Recently my driveshaft and center bearing went bad on my 735i. I took the car to Shade Tree Garage in Morristown and they gave me an estimate of $405 just to install the part. Could this be right?
I have replaced the center bearing with Dave Finch and if that was the only job we did that day and the exhaust bolt didn't need to be drilled out from the manifold and replaced it should have only taken about an hour. The only difference in my case would be that they will be putting in a different drive shaft than the one they took out ( which I don't think takes any more time...).
I know most of you know the process but let me put it out there for those of you who don't.
1. Remove exhaust
2. Remove shields that keep drive shift hidden
3. Remove old drive shaft and center bearing
4. Bolt in new shaft and center bearing (bearing is already pressed on)
5. Replace all covers
6. Put exhaust back on
Even if labor was set at $150 an hour the price should not be $400+.
Any thoughts?
New drivehaft installation
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shootupbuddie101
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 1:21 pm
- Location: Phillipsburg, NJ/Mahwah, NJ
- Contact:
Perhaps they would like to recover the cost of the food and entertainment they provided for the club meeting?
Seriously though, are you saying that you replaced the center bearing and it went bad again or that you did the current repair and just checking after the fact?
Keep in mind that you said it took two of you to do the repair, that will be twice or more billable hours for a single mechanic. I am sure there are others with more direct knowledge of how much these repairs cost.
Just for curiosity, you seem to be able recite the whole procedure from memory, why aren't you doing it yourself?
Seriously though, are you saying that you replaced the center bearing and it went bad again or that you did the current repair and just checking after the fact?
Keep in mind that you said it took two of you to do the repair, that will be twice or more billable hours for a single mechanic. I am sure there are others with more direct knowledge of how much these repairs cost.
Just for curiosity, you seem to be able recite the whole procedure from memory, why aren't you doing it yourself?
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shootupbuddie101
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 1:21 pm
- Location: Phillipsburg, NJ/Mahwah, NJ
- Contact:
Although I was not at the meeting that was held there I heard from the owners son that it was quite a success. I already replaced the center bearing and it broke due to the u joints being tight. Now I need to replace both so it doesn't happen again. Two people performed the work the first time however I am not a trained mechanic so really I wouldn't count myself.ncoker wrote:Perhaps they would like to recover the cost of the food and entertainment they provided for the club meeting?
Seriously though, are you saying that you replaced the center bearing and it went bad again or that you did the current repair and just checking after the fact?
Keep in mind that you said it took two of you to do the repair, that will be twice or more billable hours for a single mechanic. I am sure there are others with more direct knowledge of how much these repairs cost.
Just for curiosity, you seem to be able recite the whole procedure from memory, why aren't you doing it yourself?
The reason I am not doing it myself is that I need a rebuilt driveshaft and I do not have the capability or knowledge to perform that work. Also the car was in Mahwah and it was enough of a struggle to get it to Morristown never mind Phillipsburg where there would have only been a small chance that Dave Finch could have helped me out...again.
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victory1auto
- Posts: 643
- Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2004 1:37 pm
I don't know anything about Shade Tree, but I can tell you that any shop needs to make x dollars per hour in order to stay open. Whether that x comes from parts and/or labor does not matter; it still needs to be x dollars per hour.
When you bring parts to a busy shop, some will refuse to install them, and some will install them, but will need to increase their labor rate accordingly in order to achieve the "x" factor, if you will. Still other shops will install customer parts but use a relatively high labor rate for this work in order to discourage the practice. Certainly there are exceptions, but the vast majority of shops will fall into one of these categories. [This subject is thoroughly debated on professional-technician forums.]
It sounds to me like you asked ST how much they wanted to install your driveshaft, they quoted you a price, and you declined because you felt the price was too high. I don't see anything "wrong" with that.
Vic
When you bring parts to a busy shop, some will refuse to install them, and some will install them, but will need to increase their labor rate accordingly in order to achieve the "x" factor, if you will. Still other shops will install customer parts but use a relatively high labor rate for this work in order to discourage the practice. Certainly there are exceptions, but the vast majority of shops will fall into one of these categories. [This subject is thoroughly debated on professional-technician forums.]
It sounds to me like you asked ST how much they wanted to install your driveshaft, they quoted you a price, and you declined because you felt the price was too high. I don't see anything "wrong" with that.
Vic